Report: Zion, Bryce combined to bring $445 million to southwest Utah

Visitors quickly see why Zion National Park gets its name from the Hebrew word for refuge. Video shot by Pat Shannahan, the Arizona Republic.
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Southern Utah University students and tourists hike through Bryce Canyon National Park during the National Park Service centennial, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016.(Photo11: Jordan Allred / The Spectrum & Daily News)Buy Photo

Tourism to southwest Utah’s national parks and monuments brought more than $1 billion to the local economy in 2016, according to report issued Thursday by the National Parks Service.

A combined 7.6 million visitors spent an estimated $506 million while visiting Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Pipe Springs National Monument, supporting nearly 7,300 jobs across southwestern Utah, according to the annual peer-reviewed economic analysis, titled 2016 National Park Spending Effects.

Another 6 million visitors spent an estimated $648 million at nearby Grand Canyon National Park, with another 1.1 million spending some $77 million at Capitol Reef National Park.

Parks nationwide saw an all-time high of 331 million visitors for the year, which the analysis suggests pumped $34.9 billion into the national economy. In “gateway” communities near park entrances, visitor spending supported about 318,000 jobs, largely in hotels, retail stores, and transportation and recreation industries.

"National parks like Yellowstone, Zion, and Gettysburg connect us with nature and help tell America’s story," Michael T. Reynolds, acting director of the National Park Service, said in a written statement. "They are also a vital part of our nation’s economy, drawing hundreds of millions of visitors every year who fill the hotels and restaurants, hire the outfitters and rely on other local businesses that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry."

Utah ranked as seeing the fifth-highest spending among all the states at its parks, which combined to bring some $1.1 billion to the state economy. The state’s “Mighty Five” parks attracted an estimated 14.4 million visitors, supporting 18,000 jobs total and nearly $547 million in labor income.

The analysis suggests 35 percent of visitor spending went to hotels, with 20 percent going to restaurants and another 11 percent spent on gas.

Visitation was up at parks across the country, but especially in southern Utah, where Zion saw a 17 percent increase in visitors over 2015 and set a new record for attendance. Bryce also set a new record, with visitation up 26 percent.

A strong economy, good weather and low gas prices were credited for much the increase, along with the National Park Service’s Find Your Park marketing campaign, which aimed to draw more visitors to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its creation.

Since 2010, Zion has gone from 2.67 million visitors to 4.30 million. Bryce Canyon has gone from 1.29 million to 2.37 million. Capitol Reef has jumped from 662,661 in 2010 to 1.06 million last year. Over the same timeframe, the Grand Canyon is up 36 percent.

Economic impact has grown in concert. In three years, Zion’s visitor spending jumped 40 percent, from $172 million in 2013 to $245 million last year. Bryce has increased 70 percent, from $118 million to $201 million.

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Artists and patrons gathered Nov. 7, 2016 on the patio of the Zion Human History Museum during artist demonstrations for the 8th annual Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational.
Emily Havens / The Spectrum & Daily News

All the growth has put increased pressure on park service personnel and facilities, with managers still operating off budgets that were trimmed during the Great Recession.

Zion Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh has described problems keeping up with demands for parking, trail maintenance and basics like trash pickup, and officials are working on a new visitor use management plan that could include caps on how many visitors are allowed into the park at any one time.

Capacity issues are not new for the park, Bradybaugh pointed out, noting that in 2000 the park implemented its shuttle bus system to help protect the main canyons and reduce parking and traffic congestion.

"However, park visitation continues to grow and peak periods are expanding," he said. "With increasingly concentrated use and overwhelmed facilities, we are concerned with health and safety issues; diminishing quality of visitor experiences; and associated impacts to soils, vegetation, water, wildlife habitat, soundscapes, and cultural resources."

At Bryce Canyon, several projects are planned for the next year to perform routine repairs and maintenance, but none to expand existing infrastructure, said Kathleen Gonder, chief of interpretation and public information officer for the park.

Some 60 percent of the park’s visitors are international, she said, noting that park officials everywhere are wondering whether the growth trend will continue.

“There has been a lot of talk about whether these huge jumps will sustain themselves and continue on or whether it was just a temporary thing,” she said.